It’s Time To Leverage LinkedIn.

It’s Time To Leverage LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is often the neglected platform of many social media campaigns. Many companies don’t see the value in optimizing this platform and it leaves marketers with their hands tied in showing the value of this medium of social networking.

LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing networks of professionals – and if you think that it’s only for job hunting you’d be very wrong. LinkedIn is a great place to align yourself and your company as a leader in the market as well as an expert in your field.  When you have something to say that matters, LinkedIn is a great platform to say it.  It’s also the place to go to put your company on the map without selling your product endlessly.

Having an optimized company profile, having active employees connecting to it, sharing industry relevant content – when it comes to making the most basic use of this platform that’s truly the only secret there is.  Step one comes from simply taking the time, or budgeting for your marketer to take the time, to complete the company profile.  This seems simple enough, but just like everything else you put online key words and branding standards are important and valued.  This profile does have a part in the SEO for your company.  It’s important to make sure the message you’re putting in the profile is one that’s consistent with the personality of brand.  Second, encourage all of your employees to create LinkedIn profiles and connect with the company.  You shouldn’t worry that an active LinkedIn profile means that your employee is an active job seeker. Most profiles on LinkedIn are of people who aren’t seeking job opportunities but who are there to increase their professional network, often for the benefit of their current employer.  The last key piece of this platform – in its most basic of uses – is to share industry relevant content.  This does not mean that you’re self-promoting every time you push something to the network. This does mean that you seek out and share content relating to your product in general. If your brand is one that has a focus on eating right and fitness – most of the content your company shares should be relating to that.  As with all platforms you should be only self-promoting 20% of the time. This means that branded or sales posts should only be 1 out of every 5 posts.

At this point most brands and companies want to know what the true benefit of this platform is – and the truth of the matter is there’s no one size fits all response.  For those selling a product it can be connected with the consumer in a way that sets you as an industry expert and not just a sales pitch.  For those hoping to create a long term invested ambassador program it’s a way to create that professional network you can reach out to after you’ve built a relationship.  For those who have a service and need to reach a more targeted demographic to create ads this network has one of the most targeted and detailed ad platforms out there.  For a growing company who needs to create a way to reach possible new investors or create most professional buzz this platform will allow you to set yourself apart.

LinkedIn is an often missed opportunity for brands – but with the right energy and focus this platform can be rewarding in a way that you can’t tap in to on the more traditional networks.